Breastfeeding and TTC

L.~
I haven't done this myself, but I know it can be done. A friend of mine kept nursing her older daughter (only a little, though) even after her newborn arrived. She, clearly, had a great supply of milk. I would see how your supply holds up, but also, when your little guy turns one, you can give him whole milk... even give him a bottle if you need to. Good luck! :)

Hi L.,

First, you don't need a cycle in order to conceive (trust me!) all you need is to not be breast feeding exclusively, which means waking at least once a night to breastfeed, plus daytime feedings. Once you move away from that (which you have) your body may very well be ready to conceive at any time. So good luck!

As to weaning while pregnant, I will weigh in with my experience. I got pregnant when my daughter was about 7 months old. My milk supply dropped off pretty fast, because your body will prioritize feeding the fetus before it feeds the baby. However, I wasn't ready to stop nursing entirely, and thought I would supplement. The OB/gyn nurse practitioner told me to wean in the first trimester. When I asked if it was required or just her suggestion, she admitted it is a suggestion because doing both (nursing and pregnancy) makes a lot of women tired. All this to say, it is really your choice to continue breastfeeding as you like while pregnant, it is not going to take resources from the baby, as long as you are eating a healthy, sufficient, diet.

Hi,
My son was still nursing (though eating table food and some formula) at 10 months when we conceived our daughter. I continued to breastfeed my son after speaking with a lactation consultant who assured me it would be fine. When my son was almost one year, we introduced organic whole milk to him (in a bottle, now in a sippy cup). Because he loved drinking whole milk, was easily distracted while nursing, and almost a year, I chose to stop breastfeeding. For us it was easy to stop. My daughter is due in two months, and my son continues to drink two sippy cups a dayof whole milk. Good luck!

I would consult a midwife. a Certified Professional Midwife. CPM they are very naturally oriented and would probably have a lot of good tips and tricks while still respecting your nursing child.

There are a lot of things you can try including night weaning. You might not even need to wean all the way at night, dropping a feeding or two could bring your cycle back. Keep in mind that just b/c your cycle comes back you may not ovulate right away. Charting may be a good idea to see where your body is.

Check out this link. Maybe it'll be helpful.

http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/resources/ttc-while-bf...

Congrats on breastfeeding for so long. I'm currently 3 months pregnant and still breastfeeding my 18-month old. We are actually in the process of weaning him so he doesn't feel pushed out by the new baby. So it definitely is possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding. I would probably suggest cutting back on the number of times you nurse him during the day. My cycle came back when I stopped nursing full-time. I think weaning my son has been harder on me than on him. He loved nursing but he also loves the independence he gets from the sippy cup. My son doesn't like to be spoon fed very much either but he loves doing it himself. It gets very messy but we let him have a turn then mom has a turn. It has worked for us.

Good luck!

I nursed my first child for 3 1/2 years, including through my second pregnancy, and nursed both kisds for 8 months after second child was born. Happens all over the world for thousands of years. Make sure you eat and drink enough!

What if you son wants to BF until he is 5? Is that ok w/ you? Because some kids do. So if you really want to conceive now or soon then it might be time to wean. It also might be easier before he has much more of a clue or opinion about whats about to happen.
I havent conceived while BF'ing. My cycle returned w/in a couple of months. You might want to get a box of ovulation predictors to see if you are even ovulating. If you are not then you wont conceive and will have to end BF'ing in order to. If you are ovulating and just not menstrauting, then you can get preggo, it will just be more difficult if it even happens at all.
Best of luck.

I conceived while still breastfeeding but I had already started my cycle and my child was already 13 months old. We weaned very quickly after that. We were not trying very hard to get pregnant but I was taking my vitamins and was very aware of my dates. It can be done but let me warn you about the pull I'm sure most moms feel when they have the second, having to nurse the new one when the old one just stopped is difficult. Of course my youngest is now 14 months and they play together all the time and giggle like best friends. It's awesome.

You might need to start cutting back his feedings and that may bring back your cycle. Good luck!

There are many cases where women get pregnant while nursing and if you do you can continue to nurse just make sure you are getting that extra 500 or so calories; I have a freind who did just that and after the baby was born nursed them both. That is entirely up to you and your life style.
Good luck

I am breastfeeding and am pregnant. I didn't have any problem conceiving, but I have had my cycle since 5.5 months PP.

While it is possible to conceive before your cycle returns, you would need to be charting or otherwise know if you are ovulating.

If you are not ovulating, you may want to consider night weaning. Reducing the number of night feedings is usually enough to bring back your cycle.

I got pregnant while still exclusively breastfeeding, but my cycles returned after 3 months anyway. It was difficult nursing while pregnant, since my breasts hurt so bad, and my son didn't put up much of a fight to wean, but he was still really young, since I got pg when he was 5 months old.

With my 2nd son, we went straight to sippy cups, but he also had his brother to watch, so that may have helped. At 11 months, your son can eat small pieces of food by hand. Try cooked vegetables (take the liquid out of veggie soup, although that has a lot of salt), or cut up whatever veggies you are eating into small chunks and let him have at it. Try small pieces of soft fruits, like banana and peaches. The more regular food he'll eat, the less he'll nurse, and the more likely you'll start cycling again.

L.,
I don't have personal experience. I do have experience as a natural childbirth educator. Congrats for taking time to continue to nurse your son and pay attention to his rhythms.
Many moms that I know and work with have conceived while nursing. I'd talk with your local La Leche League leader. They are wonderful resources. Also, I know of several midwives that would be willing to speak with you by phone, on line or in person about this issue. Please feel free to contact me if you want more info.
L.